The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (French: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the sixtieth anniversary of Elizabeth II's accession to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms. There are three versions of the medal: one issued by the United Kingdom, another by Canada, and the third for the Caribbean realms of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The ribbon used with the Canadian and British versions of the medal are the same, while the Caribbean medal's ribbon differs slightly. The different iterations of the medal were presented to tens of thousands of recipients throughout the Commonwealth realms in the jubilee year.

Design

Named by Order in Council as the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Canadian medal was designed by Cathy Bursey-Sabourin, Fraser Herald of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, and manufactured by the Royal Canadian Mint. It takes the form of a disc with, on the obverse, a crowned effigy of the Queen circumscribed by the words ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA • CANADA (Latin for "Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, Queen • Canada").[8] The reverse features Elizabeth's royal cypher crowned and superimposed upon a diamond shield, behind which is a bed of four maple leaves and a ribbon with the dates 1952 and 2012 to the left and right of the shield and VIVAT REGINA (long live the Queen) below, all on a field of diamonds.

In the United Kingdom, the medal, more properly known as The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, was designed by Timothy Noad, a calligrapher and illuminator. It depicts on the obverse the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of the Queen crowned with a tiara and is circumscribed by the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID DEF (Latin for "Elizabeth II by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith"). The reverse shows a faceted hexagon with a crowned royal cipher, inscribed with the years 1952 and 2012.

Eight Commonwealth realms in the Caribbean—Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—have each issued a Diamond Jubilee medal. The obverse bears the same effigy of the Queen as does the British medal circumscribed by the words DIAMOND JUBILEE HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II. The reverse shows the royal cypher of Elizabeth II with CARIBBEAN REALMS above and the years 1952-2012 below. The medal itself is rhodium plated.

Both the Canadian and British versions of the medal are worn suspended from a broad red ribbon with blue outer stripes and, at the centre, double white stripes with a red stripe between.[8] The ribbon of the Caribbean medal is similar to the aforementioned, with a black stripe between the middle two white stripes.

Eligibility and allocation

In the United Kingdom and its overseas territories,[14] 450,000 medals were awarded only to members of HM Armed Forces (regular and reserves) who had served longer than five years, operational members of HM Prison Service, and emergency services personnel (including Police Community Support Officers) who have been in paid service, retained or in a voluntary capacity, and who had completed five full calendar years of service on 6 February 2012. Holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross and members of the Royal Household were also eligible. The medals cost the Department for Culture, Media and Sport £8m to produce.

The Canadian medal, which is to "honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians," is administered by the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall and was awarded to 60,000 citizens and permanent residents of Canada who made a significant contribution to their fellow countrymen, their community, or to Canada over the previous sixty years. The medal could have been awarded posthumously if the recipient was alive on 6 February 2012. The medals were allocated either automatically to individuals within certain prescribed categories—such as those in the Canadian order of precedence, the Order of Canada, or recipients of the Cross of Valour—or by selection by specific officials, such as the Governor General, senators, the Chief of the Defence Staff, or presidents of various non-governmental organizations. The Governor General was also permitted to make "exceptional awards" of the medal.

On 30 May 2012, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, presented British jubilee medals to 28 members of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, including individuals from the United Kingdom, Australia, Nepal, and Indonesia, as well as representatives from Malta and the Royal Ulster Constabulary, which had each been collectively awarded the George Cross in 1942 and 1999, respectively.